Hellebuyck makes 23 saves, NHL-leading Jets beat Canucks 3-1 for 3rd straight victory

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves, Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist and the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Sunday for their third straight victory.

Mason Appleton gave the Jets a 2-1 lead at 6:24 of the third period, and Cole Perfetti completed the scoring with 7:49 to go.

Pius Suter scored for Vancouver with 1:55 left in the first period. Connor tied it at 9:26 of the second with his 38th goal of the season.

Thatcher Demko made 24 saves for the Canucks.

Canucks: Vancouver lost ground in the wild-card race, finishing 2-2-2 on a six-game trip.

Jets: At 51-19-4, Winnipeg has a three-point lead over Eastern Conference-leading Washington for the top spot in the NHL and a six-point edge over second-place Dallas in the West. The Jets are 28-6-4 at home.

Appleton broke a tie in the third off a rebound from close range.

Connor reached 90 points for the second time in his career, three points off his career best.

The Canucks host Seattle on Wednesday night. The Jets are at Los Angeles on Tuesday night to start a three-game trip.

Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Connor (81) celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Canucks during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Connor (81) celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Canucks during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' David Gustafsson (19) and Vancouver Canucks' Derek Forbort (27) collide during first-period NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) watches a rebound and Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers (27) looks to knock the puck into the net during first-period NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) saves the shot from Vancouver Canucks' Nils Aman (88) during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Dylan DeMelo (2) and Vancouver Canucks' Conor Garland (8) collide during first period NHL action in Winnipeg on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) keeps his eye on the rebound and Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers (27) looks to knock the puck in during first period NHL action in Winnipeg on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Connor (81) celebrates his goal on Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Adam Lowry (17) tries to knock into the net a rebound by Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) during first-period NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, killing six people in the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the U.S., according to witnesses and a law enforcement official.

The New York Fire Department said it received a report of the crash at 3:17 p.m. All six people aboard were killed, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.

Witness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.

Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, said she saw the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water.

“There was a bunch of smoke coming out. It was spinning pretty fast, and it landed in the water really hard,” she said in a phone interview.

Video posted to social media showed parts of the chopper splashing into the water, and the overturned aircraft was submerged, with rescue boats circling it.

The skies were overcast at the time, but visibility over the river was not substantially impaired. Rescue crews had to deal with 45-degree water temperatures.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate.

The rescue craft were near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side of the river. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were on streets near the scene with their lights flashing.

The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with both planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads that whisk business executives and others to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.

Over the years, there have been multiple crashes, including a collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River in 2009 that killed nine people and the 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights that went down into the East River, killing five people.

A medical transport plane killed seven people when it plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood in January. That happened two days after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair in Washington — the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation.

The crashes and other close calls have left some people worried about the safety of flying.

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

First responders from New Jersey and New York respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

A New York Fire Department Marine 1 boat departs from Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)